Saturday, July 14, 2018

Flying Horse of Gansu


We just learned about the Mao Gong Ding.

Another ancient Chinese sculpture is the Flying Horse of Gansu, also called the Bronze Running Horse or the Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow.

This sculpture was found underneath a monastery in an old tomb with over 200 different bronze sculptures.

The horse in this sculpture is a type of horse called Tianma, which means heavenly horse.
These horses came from a place called Ferghana, and they were such great horses that the Emperor of China gave them the nickname of heavenly horse.

The statue is perfectly balanced on just one foot, which is stepping on top of a bird.
This is supposed to mean that the horse runs so fast it is almost like it is flying through the air with the birds.



(from: wikipedia - flying horse of gansu)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: David - Donatello